Democrats plan to include debt limit suspension in stopgap funding bill
CBSN
Democratic congressional leaders announced Monday they will include suspending the debt limit in a short-term government funding bill, as the United States barrels toward a potential government shutdown at the end of the month. The new plan includes funding the government through December as well as suspending the debt limit through December 2022.
By attaching the debt limit suspension to the temporary funding measure, Democrats are gearing up for a battle with Republicans, who have pushed Democrats to go it alone without any support from the GOP caucus. It's part of a broader push to derail Democrats' efforts to pass a large $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, including a number of President Biden's economic agenda priorities ranging from childcare to education and combating climate change.
On Monday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the legislation to fund the government through the end of the year would avoid a government shutdown. By including the debt limit in the provision, they're forcing Republicans' hands to help address the debt limit or vote against the bill and essentially in favor of a government shutdown.
Two climbers were waiting to be rescued near the peak of Denali, a colossal mountain that towers over miles of vast tundra in southern Alaska, officials said Wednesday. Originally part of a three-person team that became stranded near the top of the mountain, the climbers put out a distress call more than 30 hours earlier suggesting they were hypothermic and unable to descend on their own, according to the National Park Service.
There's no making up for what Olympic hurdler Lashinda Demus lost on the day she finished .07 seconds behind a Russian opponent who, everyone later learned, was doping. What the American 400-meter hurdles champion will finally receive is a great day under the Eiffel Tower where she'll be presented with the gold medal she was denied 12 years ago at the London Olympics.